Last night, WEAR TV reporter Renee Beninate interviewed a former Escambia County jail inmate who tested positive for COVID-19 after being released from the Escambia County Jail last Tuesday.
Bobby Cole spent about three months behind bars after being arrested in May. He claimed that he was not allowed to be testing
Escambia County spokesperson Laura Coale told Beninate that all inmates are now allowed to ask to be tested for the virus as of Aug. 10. Â At their Aug. 6 meeting, the county commissioners directed County Administrator Janice Gilley to implement testing for any inmate requesting one.
Inweekly has reported on this issue several times, and the tests numbers reported by the county show only 12 prisoners have been tested over the past seven days – only one yesterday.
There has been no increase in COVID testing at the county jail:
| Wk Ended | Tested |
| 7/17/20 | 12 |
| 7/24/20 | 13 |
| 7/31/20 | 12 |
| 8/7/20 | 6 |
| 8/14/20 | 11 |